Every spring, southern Louisiana throws a giant two-week-long party that ends on the Christian holiday of Ash Wednesday. The celebration is the largest in New Orleans; there is always at least one large parade per day.

The major parades follow the same schedule every year, and the largest and most elaborate ones are always held on the last five days of the celebration. Attendees typically dress up in costumes and masks and an event known as the 'Meeting of the Courts' is held on Shrove Tuesday to elect the 'King of the Festival' and wrap up the celebrations. Mardi Gras

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Royal Street, New Orleans Ogden Museum of Southern Art Rip Van Winkle Gardens, New Iberia Laura Plantation: Louisiana's Creole Heritage Site Mike the Tiger's Habitat, Baton Rouge Houmas House Frenchmen Street RTA - Streetcars Preservation Hall Whitney Plantation LSU Rural Life Museum Oak Alley Plantation Historic New Orleans Collection Audubon Zoo The National WWII Museum Louisiana State Capitol NOMA's Besthoff Sculpture Garden USS KIDD Veterans Museum 1850 House, Louisiana Global Wildlife Center Jungle Gardens Mardi Gras

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